"Effect of Sorting and Optaflexx Supplementation on Feedlot Performan" by W. A. Griffin, T. J. Klopfenstein et al.

Animal Science, Department of

 

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2009

Citation

The Professional Animal Scientist 25 ( 2009 ):273–282

Comments

Copyright 2009 American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists

Abstract

A 2-yr study was conducted using 200 long yearling steers/yr (436 ± 30 kg) to determine the effect on performance and economics of sorting by BW at feedlot entry and feeding 200 mg/steer of Optaflexx (OPT) daily for the last 28 d. At feedlot entry, steers were allotted into 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: sorted or unsorted with or without OPT. Sorted steers were placed into 1 of 3 groups—1) heavy steers (32%; 468 kg), 2) medium steers (44%; 432 kg), or 3) light steers (24%; 399 kg)—and were fed for 97, 118, or 132 d, respectively. Initial BW for unsorted steers averaged 436 kg and steers were fed 111 d. There were no sorted × OPT interactions (P > 0.10) and feeding OPT did not affect steer performance (P > 0.10). Sorted steers were fed more days than unsorted steers (114 vs. 111) and were not statistically different in final BW (645 vs. 640 kg; P = 0.15) or hot carcass weight (406 vs. 403 kg; P = 0.14). Sorting increased LM area (P < 0.01), fat thickness (P = 0.02), and percentage of YG 4 carcasses or higher (P < 0.01). From this study, we concluded there were no benefits to sorting long yearling steers by initial BW or feeding OPT to long yearling steers for the last 28 d of the feeding period.

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